Review: Heartless

"Once I was a lonely Rook upon a distant shore, and I would murder for my queen so we might win a war. Now mine eyes see the heart that once we did search for, and I fear this heart shall be mended nevermore."

Honestly, this was so good I don't even have words to express how much I love this book. I've always loved Alice in Wonderland, I read it when I was a child and then again as an adult, there is something so wonderful about that world that is pure nonsense and unleashed creativity, even the aesthetic of it is just that, wonder. On the other hand I also love Meyer's fairy tale retellings and the way she manages to keep the concept and infuse it with autenticity. Heartless is just that, the book has all the magic from the original Wonderland stories mixed up with the thrill of a villain's origin tale.

"In fact," she continued, scanning the gardens below, "I want all the white roses to be removed before springtime. From now on, the gardeners are to plant only red roses, if they must grow roses at all."

It combines the whimsical, poetic language of Lewis Carroll and detailed descriptions with Meyer's own style as it follows Catherine, a young noble girl on her path to become the next Queen of Hearts. As we all know, the original character is a villain so you can already guess something terrible must have happened to her; however it is exactly that which makes the book so compelling, Meyer manages to make the transition between heroin and evil queen so subtle you don't even realize when her mind starts to change.

The ending is dark, yet satisfying and completely perfect. I'll recommend it until the end of my days.